Dear Rep. Vance,

I heard that you wouldn’t attend the special session in Juneau unless your constituents wanted you to be there. As one of your constituents, I am writing to urge you to attend this session, which begins on Saturday, Aug. 2. The election is over. You won. Isn’t your job to represent us once you are elected? By not attending, you are failing to fulfill your obligation as our representative in the House.

The governor has called a special session, knowing that there is a good chance his veto of reducing the base student allocation from $700 to $500 won’t be overturned. By taking away $200 from each student, it is the first time in state history that a governor has failed to fully fund the education formula

I am sure you are aware that the president has frozen more than $6 billion in federal education grants for K-12 schools and adult education. Alaska was supposed to receive $46.4 million, which for our district translates to a $3 million loss of funding for specific programs, including language instruction for English learners, migrant education, student support, and academic enrichment.

With this latest setback, I urge you to vote to override the governor’s veto and help our schools address these budget shortfalls. Additionally, we have discussed how schools play a crucial role in identifying students who may be vulnerable to the influence of adults in their lives. Schools are one of the places where this can be identified, and help can be provided to those students.

You work for the constituents of House District 6 and not the governor. Your vote matters, and by not attending the special session, you are forfeiting your right to vote. We have talked, and I know you want people to vote, as all voices matter. Please set an example by attending the special session.

Sincerely,

Alex Koplin

Students need us to speak up

Just a heads up to everyone who is supportive of education — on Sunday, Aug. 3 from 2-3 p.m., there will be a peaceful demonstration on the corner of Lake St and the Bypass.

The theme is “Public Education Matters” and is timed to send a clear message to legislators who will be in a Special Session in Juneau asking them to override the Governor’s veto of education funding. (Note these funds were voted on and passed in the last session which ended in May. According to state law, the override must be done in the first 5 days, August 2-6.)

Our kids, our teachers, our schools need us to speak up!

More details about this demonstration available soon.

Lani Raymond, retired teacher

Homer

Thank you for film and panel on fisheries

On behalf of my employer, SalmonState, I would like to thank the Porcupine Theater for showing David Attenborough’s most recent documentary, “Ocean,” this past weekend. The film captures breathtaking footage of underwater life as well as some never-before-seen footage of the destructive nature of bottom trawling, an industrial fishing practice negatively impacting oceans all over the world — including in Alaska.

Trawlers in Alaska bycatch a documented 141 million pounds of marine life annually, from halibut to king and chum salmon, herring, crab and killer whales, and we Alaskans are concerned with its impact on our commercial, sport and traditional fisheries. Trawling is at the other end of the spectrum from Alaska’s responsibly, sustainably managed fisheries, which SalmonState wholeheartedly supports. The panel discussion SalmonState hosted on Saturday evening at the Porcupine prior to the film focused on the state of Alaska’s fisheries, which included concerns with trawling in Alaska’s waters.

A big thank you to the Porcupine for that panel, as well as Marissa Wisniewski and Dave Lyon for participating in that panel and leading the discussion with the audience. Marissa and Dave brought years of personal experience in commercial and recreational fishing, fisheries management and advocacy expertise, and highlighted the wanton waste of bycatch of important fish species, including halibut, salmon and crabs, and trawling’s destruction of ocean floor habitat. Finally, thank you to all who attended the screening of “Ocean” and donated to our campaign. SalmonState encourages those interested in learning more about and taking action on trawling to sign a petition asking Rep. Nick Begich to introduce federal legislation to ban bottom trawling in Alaska’s waters at salmonstate.org/bycatch.

Loretta Brown, legal and policy analyst

SalmonState